Scalloping device



April 12, 1938. c, SEAMAN 2,113,948

SCALLOPING DEVICE Filed Oct. 11, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 9 El m 68 MM $5M INVENTQR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 12, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT-OFFICE Charles Seaman, Jamaica Estates, N. Y.

Application October 11, 1935, Serial No. 44,498

'1 Claims.

This invention relates to sewing machines and more particularly to a device or attachment for making scalloped hems or the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a device for automatically making hems having attractive designs.

Another object is to provide a simple, convenient and dependable device of the above type which may be readily applied to a standard sewing machine.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

Although the novel features which are characteristic of this invention will be pointed out more particularly in the claims appended hereto, the broader aspects of the invention will be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings in which a specific embodiment is set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a sewing machine head embodying the present invention. 25 Figure 2 is a front elevation thereof.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the sewing machine head showing the stitching mechanism.

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the sewing machine head showing the driving mechanism.

Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 are detail views showing various types of cams which may be used in this device;.and

Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12 are detail views showing the material produced by the use of the re- 35 spective cams shown-in Figures 5 to 8.

In the specification and in the claims certain specific terms have been used for convenience in referring to various details of the invention. These terms, however, are to be given as broad 40 an interpretation as the state of the art will permit. r

Referring to the drawings more in detail, the invention is shown as embodied in a sewing machine comprising a head I, having a needle bar 45 2 which is reciprocated by a suitable driving means, such as a driving shaft (not shown) driven by a pulley ,3 and a presser foot bar 4 actuated by a lever 5 and carrying a presser foot 6 which isadapted to maintain the material in 50 engagement with feed dogs I extending through an aperture 8 in a base 9.

It is to be understood that the elements thus far referred to are of standard construction and operate in the usual manner for'feeding and 55 stitching a material.

In the embodiment shown, a base plate to is provided, which is adapted to be secured to the base 8 of the machine in any convenient manner, as by a set screw l I, which extends through the base plate It into a tapped hole insaid base 8. 5 The base plate I0 is provided with a rear bracket I2 having upstanding ears l3 and [4 through which a rod l5 extends. The rod I5 is normally held against a cam It, to be described, by means of a coil spring II which is positioned be- 10 tween the ear l3 and a collar l8 which may be secured on the rod IS in the desired position. as by screws IS. The tension of the spring I! may be adjusted by varying the position of said collar [8.

The rod l5 carries at its free end an arm 22 to which is secured a transverse member 23 having an edge 24 adapted to enter a slot 25 in the presser foot 6 for the purpose to be described. The arm 22 is adapted to slide transversely under 20 a guide 26 which is secured to the base plate III.

A folder 28 is provided with an extensible arm 29 which is secured to the base plate It by a screw 30. The extensible arm .29 comprises slidable members 3| and 32 which are adjustably 25 secured together by a set screw. 33 extending through an elongated slot 34 in the member 3| and threaded into the member 32. The folder 28 is designed to fold a longitudinal edge of the material being stitched to form a plurality of plies and to guide the same to the needle for stitching to form the finished hem. The folder 28 may be provided with a slot 35 through which the edge of the material passes and which is adapted to limit the amount of material which is 5 folded over, whereby a hem of uniform width may be produced.

The driving mechanism for the cam l6 comprises a bracket 40 which is secured to the end of the sewing machine head I by means of screws 40 4|. The bracket 40 carries a housing 42 in which a shaft 43 is journaled, carrying the cam l6 and a worm gear 44. A cooperating worm gear 45 is secured by suitable means in driving relationship to the driving shaft of the machine. 45 In one embodiment, the worm gear 45 is secured by a screw 46 to a bushing (not shown) which extends through a suitable opening in the housing 42 and is secured in the hub 41 of the pulley 3 in driving relationship to said driving shaft. 50 A cover plate 48 may be secured to the housing 42, if desired, to conceal the above-described driving mechanism.

The cam It may be secured to the shaft 43 by means of a set screw 50. The bracket 40 is also provided with .2... extension ll having an aperture 42 through which the rod ll extends and which is adapted to hold the end of said rod in alignment with the cam Id.

In the operation of this device the material is is determined by the ratio of the gears 44 and 45.

As a point 53 of this cam engages the end of the rod IS, the rod is shifted axially, thereby causing the arm 22 and the transverse member 23 to be shifted transversely. The edge 24 of the member 23 then enters the slot 25 in the presser foot 6 and reaches a position closely adjacent. but in back of, the path of travel of the needle. When a low part of the cam i5 has turned toward the end of the rod I5, the rod is permitted to move in the reverse direction under the influence of the spring ll, whereby the edge 24 of the member 23 is retracted from. the slot 25.

When the edge 24 is out of engagement with the material being stitched, the machine operates in the usual manner to forma hem on the edge of said material. However, when the edge 24 has been brought into engagement with said material due to the action of the cam IE, it presses the edge of the material transversely an amount such that one or more stitches, such as a stitch 55 (Figure 9), extends over said edge. The stitch 55 prevents the adjacent material from returning to its original position when the member 23 is disengaged therefrom, whereby a scalloped effeet is produced in the finished material.

- The cam I6 is so designed and so timed, as by suitable adjustment on the shaft 43, that the edge 2! of the member 23 is caused to engage the edge of the material being stitched and to hold the same in displaced position at the time of the penetrating thrust of the needle and to release the material as soon as the stitch has been formed, so that the stitching can progress normally until the member 23 again engages the material.

Obviously, the length of the scallop and the general arrangement can be varied by varying the shape of the cam l6. In Figures 1 to 5 the cam is illustrated as of generally square contour and is adapted to produce four strokes of the rod I5 for each revolution of the cam. The number of stitches intervening between the successive strokes is dependent upon the gear ratio of the driving gears 44 and 45 and of the mechanism driving the reciprocating needle. The scallop can 1 be lengthened by lengthening the stitch of the machine so that a greater amount of material is fed between successive strokes of the rod II.

It is obvious that various other types of cams can be used to produce diiferent effects as, for

example, the cams illustrated in Figures 6, 7 and 8. The cam in Figure 6 is provided with three points 60, GI and 52 which are irregularly spaced so as to provide a long scallop 53 (Figure 10) and two intermediate shorter scallops 54. The com illustrated in Figure 7 is provided with a pair of points 65 which are adapted to actuate the rod l5 twice during each revolution of the cam so as to produce a scallop 66 (Figure 11) which is double the length of the scallop shown in Figure 9 and produced by the four-pointed cam of Figure 5. e

The cam of Figure 8 is provided with points 55 which are irregularly spaced around the periphaliases ery so as to actuate the rod twice and in rapid succession to produce the shorter scallops 43 (Figure 12) and to provide a somewhat longer interval between such sctuations so as to produce longer scallops II of Figure 12. This form of cam accordingly produces alternate long and short scallops.

It is obvious that various other arrangements can be obtained by varying the shape of the cam and the timing thereof with respect to the needle. Certain specific forms have been shown for purposes of illustration only.- I

It is to be noted that the above-described device can be attached to any standard type of sewing machine with a minimum amount of labor. This is accomplished by first attaching the bracket 43 containing the driving mechanism and connecting the gear 45 to the driving shaft of the machine. Thereafter. the base plate I. may be positioned by first inserting the end of the rod I! in the'aperture 52 of the extension ll of the bracket 40. The proper timing is obtained by moving the pulley 3 until the needle is in the lowest position and then setting the cam I! with one of its points 53 against the rod II. Thereafter, the proper timing is assured inasmuch as the various points of the cam ii are designed to actuate the rod ii in synchronism with the needle.

If it is desired to use the machine for ordinary sewing, it is only necessary to remove the set screw Ii and to remove the base plate ID, to-' gether with the folder 23, the rod l5 and associated mechanism, from the machine. The cam I5 and the associated .driving mechanism need not-be removed inasmuch as they will not teristic of the finished product.

Various other changes and adaptations will be apparent to a person skilled in the art. Al-

though a specific embodiment of the invention purposes of illustration,'

has been described for it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited thereto, but isonly to be'limited in accordance with the following claims when interpreted in view of the prior art.

I claim: a

1. In a sewing machine having a head, a reciprocating needle in one end thereof, means to reciprocate said needle including a driving shaft and a pulley in driving relationship to 'said driving shaft, said pulley and needle being at opposite ends of said head, and means to feed material to said needle for stitching, an attachment comprising a removably mounted cam, driving means for said cam secured to the end of the head adjacent said pulley'and one end of said driving shaftand in driving relationship to said driving shaft, and actuated by said cam, a member controlled by said rod to vary the lateral position of the material being stitched so as to vary the position oi the stitches for producing an irregular effect, and means removably mounting said rod whereby it may be removed from the machine to permit the machine to stitch in the normal manner.

shaft and in driving 2. In a sewing machine having a head, a reciprocating needle in one end thereof, means to reciprocate said needle including a driving shaft and a pulley in driving relationship to said driving shaft, said pulley and needle being at opposite ends of said head, and means to feed material to said needle for stitching, an attachment comprising a removably mounted cam, driving means for said cam secured to the end of the head adiacent said pulley and one end of said driving relationship to saidjdrivin shaft, a plate adapted to be removably secured to the sewing machine, said plate carryin a rod adapted to be actuated by said cam. and a member controlled by said rod to vary the lateral position of the material being stitched so as to vary the position of the stitches for producing an irregular effect. 1

3. In a sewing machine having a head, a reciprocating needle in one end thereof, means to reciprocate said needle including a driving shaft and a pulley in driving relationship to said driving shaft, said pulley and needle being at opposite ends of said head, and means to feed material to said needle for stitching, an attachment comprising a'removably mounted cam, driving means for said cam secured'to the end of the head adjacent said pulley and one end of said driving shaft and in driving relationship to said driving shaft, a plate adapted to be removably secured to the base of the sewing machine, said plate carrying a reciprocating rod having one end adapted to engage said cam for actuation thereby, spring means normally holding said rod against said cam and a member actuated by said rod to vary the position of the material being stitched for producing an irregular effect.

4. In a sewing machine having a head, a reciprocatin'g needle in one end thereof, means to reciprocate said needle including a driving shaft and a pulley in driving relationship to said driving shaft, said pulley and needle being at opposite ends of said head, and means to feed material to said needle for stitching, an attachment comprising a removably mounted cam, drivin means for said cam secured to the end of the head adiacent said pulley and one end of said drivin shaft and in driving relationship to said driving shaft. a rod actuated by said cam, and means associated with said rod to engage and press the edge of the material being stitched transversely toward the needle on each actuation of said rod so as to vary the position of the stitch.

5. In a sewing machine having a head, a reciprocating needle inone end thereof, means to reciprocate said needle including a driving shaft and a pulley in driving relationship to said driving shaft, said pulley and needle being at opposite ends of said'head, and means to feed material to said needle for stitching, an attachment comprising a removably mounted cam, driving means for saidcam securedtothe end of thehead adiscent said pulley and one end ,of said driving shaft and in driving relationship to said driving shaft. a plate adapted to be removablv secured to the sewing machine. said plate carrying a reciprocating rod bearing against said can at one end for actuation thereby. and a transverse member actuated by said rod to engage the edge of the material being stitched at a point closely adjacent the path of the needle and to press said edge transversely at each actuation of said rod for varying the position of the stitch with respect thereto.

6. In a sewing machine having a head, a reciprocating needle in one end thereof, means to reciprocate said needle including a driving shaft and a pulley in driving relationship to said driving shaft, said pulley and needle being at opposite ends of said head, and means to feed material to said needle for stitching, an attachment comprising a removably mounted cam, driving means for said cam secured to the end of the head adjacent said pulley and one end of said driving shaft and in driving relationship to said driving shaft, a plate to be removabiy secured to the sewing machine, said plate carrying a rod bearing against and actuated by said cam and a finger actuated by said rod to engage and shift the edge of the material being stitched transversely of the needle path on each actuation of said rod, so as to vary the position of the stitch and produce a scalloped effect, said plate, rod and finger being removable as a unit to permit the machine to be used for normal stitchin operation without necessitating removal of said cam and driving mechanism.

'I. In a sewing machine having a head, a reciprocating needle in one end thereof, means to reciprocate said needle including a driving shaft and a pulley in ing shaft, said pulley and needle being at opposite ends of said head, and means to feed material to said needle for stitching, an attachment comprising a removably mounted cam, driving means'for said cam secured to the end of the head adjacent said pulley and one end of said driving shaft and in driving relationship to said driving shaft, a plate to be removably secured to the sewing machine, said plate carryi a rod bearing against and actuated by said cam, a folder to fold the edge of a material adiustably mounted on said plate to feed the folded edge of the material to the path of the needle for stitching, said plate also carryi a finger which is actuated by said rod to engage and shift the foldededge of the material transversely of the path of the needle on each actuation of said rod, the position of the stitch and to produce a scalloped effect, said plate, rod, finger and folder being removable as a unit to permit the machine to be used for normal stitching without requiring removal of said cam and drivin meehanism.

driving relationship to said driv- 

